Melita ‘s fingers were no longer shaking, and their deftness had returned, clever in their destruction of the remaining wood and ingenious in their binding the strips together. She worked apace with the others, preparing the decorative window framing with skill and panache. The slats were notched and bound together firmly to last for seasons to come.
Kiada was able to stay on the opposite side of the small shrine from Melita, working from a different source of raw materials. The sled had been sturdy at one point, but the cracked runner and the repeated trips carrying the stones had loosened it up quite a bit. She would have no trouble separating its planks to build the frame that would fit into the stone lantern structure that Jigano and Caiside had constructed. Once the frame was set in place the door came along more swiftly, the hinges easily screwing into place and then slotting together with their pins.
It took all four of them to lift the ‘roof’ of the lantern into place, a lucky find among the rubble. It balanced atop the corner and the central post, supported firmly by the hard work that had gone in below it. When they were done Jigano stepped back to admire what they had done. He dipped into his bag of supplies one last time, pulling out candles to hand out to those who wanted one. ”Thank you all for your help with this. Hopefully Ludo and Mort will look well upon it. I don’t know if they will or not, but I’m going to light a candle for them and offer my prayers. If you’d like to join me, please be welcome. If not, that’s alright too. You can warm up by the fire until we’re done and we can head back together.” He smiled at his friends, bowing deeply in gratitude for their help before turning to the shrine and lighting his candle with a punt from the fire, opening the shrine door to set it within. They had made it large enough that there was plenty of room for the others as well. He bowed his head and settled into silent prayer.
Thank you for participating in this PQ! Last round:
Light a candle for the lantern shrine and make a prayer – or don’t! It’s up to you!
